Years ago, I got all wigged out on 1950's hi-fi. I acquired a cool old corner horn (super efficient and as big as your refrigerator) and built a basic 2A3 powered single-ended 3- watt power amp. I had it all set up in the corner of my den with a good turntable and CD player hooked up to it. At that time I listened mostly to the Chess Records Catalog and RCA Living Stereo LPs from the 50's & early 60s. The absolute BEST sounding record on that rig was Ray Charles' December 1954 recording of "I Gotta Woman". In glorious mono, it sounded three dimensional, like Ray was singing in the room right in front of you.

I'm old enough to know that mainstream white America in the 60s liked Ray Charles's music a LOT, but could not get past the notion that his swagger at the piano was fueled by his either being really high or really jonesing for a shot. My Dad, for instance, sort of pitied Ray as being a "dope ad dict" (which was how Dad pronounced it) and just couldn't overlook that flaw. Hell, if I dismissed every musician I ever loved because they were "dope ad dicts", I guess my house would be pretty damn quiet. And that would apply to the last six and a half decades.

Regardless, during the late 60s, it was commonly held on Music Row that the man that had most elevated Country Music and Nashville in particular was in fact the very black Mr. Ray Charles. thanks to his masterpiece: "Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music". Nashville publishers pitched 250 songs for Ray's consideration, and Ray and his producer cherry-picked the twelve now-classics that ended up on the album. Thanks to Ray, Nashville crossed over.